Back in June, Cupertino-based Sobrato Organization closed on the purchase of an 11.2-acre shopping center in Redwood City - between Broadway and Bay, off Woodside Road. The aging plaza is currently home to a CVS, Big Lots, Foods Co. and few other shops.
Last Friday, Sobrato unveiled their proposal for the land. The mixed-use development - which they have dubbed the Broadway Plaza - would call for the construction of 400 apartment units, 420,000 S/F of office, and 19,000 S/F of retail. As a part of the deal negotiated between Sobrato and the previous ownership group (which included CVS), CVS will acquire a new store at the corner of Woodside and Bay.
The residential component would be closest to Chestnut Street, with the buildings rising up to 6 stories. Ground floor apartments will feature stoops to give the project a "softer edge". This will also help it mesh with the residential neighborhood that will face the development from the other side of Chestnut.
The office component would consist of two large buildings - one at 200,000 S/F, and the other at 220,000 S/F. In between the office buildings and the apartments, there would be a 40,000 S/F landscaped space open to the public.
The proposal includes 1,860 parking stalls, only 40 of which are above ground, and all of which are shared - meaning residents and guests can park in the office spots during nights and weekends, and workers can park in unassigned residential spots during the day.
In a phone interview with the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Rob Hollister, the President of Real Estate for Sobrato, said the mixed use development approach is a way of addressing the concerns about traffic and lack of housing in Redwood City. It reduces traffic because it "give[s] people the chance to live where they work and shop where they live”. And it addresses the shortage of housing simply by virtue of the fact that there will be 400 more housing units than there would have been were the shopping center left as-is.
Traffic concerns aside (of which there will surely be plenty), this development could also lead to resident opposition stemming from concern for a loss in affordable shopping. Both Big Lots and Foods Co. are "bargain" grocery/department chains. Either way, this project is still a ways out as some of the plaza's current tenants are locked in for a couple of years. Don'y expect to see this project move forward until '17-'18.
What's Next: Redwood City will review the proposal to verify that it complies with their General Plan, at which point they will initiate an environmental impact report.
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